The sanitary protection industry has developed thin and flexible absorbent products that retain high absorption capacity. However, absorbent products that are thin and highly flexible when in place in undergarment of a user undergo deformation due to movement and compression of the wearer's thighs. These absorbent products do not readily return to their original conformation upon release of the compression force and remain more or less in their deformed conformation (i.e., resulting in bunching of the absorbent product). An absorbent product such as a sanitary napkin or a pantiliner that is deformed (that undergoes bunching) reduces its fluid absorption area, thereby increasing the incidence of failure rates.
To address these drawbacks, the industry has modified the stiffness of the absorbent core of the absorbent product. Particularly, the absorbent core of the absorbent product has been modified to include zones of varying stiffness, wherein the stiffness of the absorbent core has been increased in areas of the product that are more prone to displacements, such as for example, between the tights of the wearer, and the stiffness has been decreased in areas that are less prone to displacement, such as for example at the front and rear portions of the product. An example of sanitary napkin with zones of varying stiffness is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,211,078, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
One potential difficulty with absorbent products having zones of varying stiffness is that while the product is less prone to deformation/bunching and more easily returns to its original configuration upon deformation, the product is more susceptible to tearing and breaking.
Against this background, it can be seen that there exists in the industry a need to provide absorbent products that have high resiliency and flexibility without loss of resistance or comfort for the wearer while maintaining high absorption capacities.